Riddick fans rejoice! The long awaited but unlikely anticipated sequel to the Riddick franchise has come to the big screen. Championed by its star Vin Diesel, who’s been rumoring it’s slow progress for the nearly 10 years since he last portrayed the space badass in Chronicles of Riddick, this sci-fi action flick delivers exactly what Riddick fans have been missing and nothing that anyone else wants.
The relatively low budgeted ($38 million) does exactly what anyone would expect from the franchise, largely recapturing, or rehashing, elements that made the original Pitch Black the success that it was. Diesel returns to his peak physical form to play the unstoppable killing machine who has little to say, to anyone. Reminiscent of other stoic badasses like Wesley Snipe’s Blade, Riddick carries the movie has the mono-toned narrator and the only character on screen for at least the first 20 minutes. Although Diesel does well to be a physically intimidating presence to everything single thing on the planet, he does little to help engage the audience.
This actually being the fourth installment in the Riddick series, unless the video game is included, Riddick finds himself abandoned and left for dead on some unknown planet, betrayed by the Necromongers that he became ruler of at the end of the last film. Admitting that ruling made him “dull” any connection of the Chronicles of Riddick is wiped away in the first five minutes through narration and flashbacks. Trapped on this unforgiving planet Riddick faces off against baited mercenaries in an attempt to get a ride home. From here the film gets a bit familiar as enemies band together against a greater force.
The cast is a significant struggle as most of the characters are hollow archetypes. Diesel’s short and sweet style of bassy delivery will do well when he portrays Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, but as the star of the movie he should be doing more to make himself or someone else more likeable, even the “New Kid” can’t stir an emotional response. Worse of all though may be Starbuck herself, Katee Sackhoff plays Dahl the hard-ass chick who may or may not be a lesbian? Seemingly not at any fault of hers as she does her best with what she’s given although unnecessary decisions are made with her character that are honestly disgraceful.
The action holds up pretty well although with a lack of ethos it remains tough to get too invested. Not that it’s ever been the strong suit of the series. The Riddick franchise strives on high action with a seemingly unbeatable anti-hero. Like the previously mentioned Blade, it’s the mysterious bad boy that everyone loves, not the rich storytelling. It’s not for everyone, but for those who enjoy action for actions sake may have a good time accompanied with a bowl of popcorn and a tasty beverage.
